Tata Motors CV gearing up for multi-fuel pathway, Says Tata's Girish Wagh

On the road to decarbonization, Tata Motors’ commercial vehicle arm is charting a technology-agnostic route to decarbonisation, keeping multiple fuel options such as CNG, LNG, electric, hydrogen and biofuels in play, according to Girish Wagh, Tata Motors executive director and head of commercial vehicles.

“For decarbonization in Europe, they have decided that the future is going to be technology agnostic. They may also approve biofuels. So, I think that is what we are also getting geared up for,” he said while speaking about the transition to cleaner mobility. 

In the near term, Tata Motors sees CNG playing a central role in lowering emissions from commercial vehicles, particularly for long-haul and high-utilisation operations. “I think CNG means gaseous fuel, will continue to be relevant for the years to come. Certainly, the decarbonization journey for commercial vehicles has to go through the use of gaseous fuel. That is the first, lowest-hanging fruit. And therefore, we will have the full range of offerings.”

Battery electric vehicle is another area where Tata Motors is betting aggressively. Tata Motors sees strong potential for electric trucks and buses in closed-loop operations, such as ports, mines, city logistics and certain industrial corridors, where range predictability and charging access can be effectively managed. 

Tata Motors on Tuesday expanded its electric truck portfolio with a range of electric trucks and tippers across 7 to 55 tonnes under the Tata Trucks.EV brand. These new models – Ultra EV light trucks in 7, 9, and 12-tonne configurations and the Prima E.55S - are built on the new I-MOEV architecture and target applications across e-commerce, construction, ports and mining.

While EVs are being looked at as a game-changer for intra-city and short-haul applications, LNG is seen as ideal for long-haul, heavy-duty operations. But LNG trucks are yet to gain significant traction in the Indian market. Wagh noted that while LNG has significant potential, inadequate infrastructure and the availability of LNG remain a challenge.

“We continue to run LNG trucks, but there are two key challenges. One is infrastructure reach, and the other is fuel pressure at filling stations, which affects the amount of LNG that can be loaded and, in turn, reduces real-world driving range. These are the issues we are working on with infrastructure providers,” Wagh said.

Citing the example of China, where 40-50% of the trucks are running on LNG, Wagh noted that India needs to secure assured access to LNG like how China has secured long-term LNG supplies from Australia. “We have developed CNG engines that are LNG-ready, as we cannot afford to be left behind in a technology-agnostic transition. We are also participating in ongoing trials to validate and prove these technologies.”

Meanwhile, hydrogen is seen as the long-term zero-emission pathway. Tata Motors is continuing trials of hydrogen-powered trucks in partnership with Indian Oil to study their commercial viability and other challenges. According to Wagh, hydrogen will need to reach specific price thresholds and supply reliability before it can be deployed at scale, but early data from trials have been encouraging.

“For hydrogen to be commercially viable, fuel costs need to come down to around $2.5 per kg. Fuel purity is another challenge, as fuel cells require very high purity levels, while internal combustion engines can tolerate slightly higher impurities. There are also engineering issues such as hydrogen embrittlement, and some of the solutions our engineers have developed will be seen on these vehicles.” 

(with inputs from Ketan Thakkar)